U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks as U.S. President Donald Trump stands behind him during a news conference following a U.S. strike in Venezuela where President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured, from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, U.S., January 3, 2026.
Jonathan Ernst | Reuters
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio On Sunday, he appeared to backtrack on the president Donald Trumpthe claim that the United States will ‘rule’ Venezuela after American forces on Saturday capture Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and took him to the United States
Asked how the United States plans to rule Venezuela, Rubio said the United States would use leverage gained from its oil blockade on the country and regional military buildup to achieve its political goals. He did not say that the United States would directly govern Venezuela.
The United States has seized in recent months oil tankers associated with the country and moved military ships and warplanes around the Caribbean.
“What’s going to happen here is we have a quarantine on their oil, that means their economy can’t move forward until the conditions that are in the national interest of the United States and in the interest of the Venezuelan people are met, and that’s what we intend to do,” Rubio said on ABC’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulos.”
“That leverage remains, that leverage is ongoing and we hope it leads to results here,” Rubio said.
Asked by NBC’s “Meet the Press” host Kristen Welker about who runs Venezuela, Rubio was more blunt.
“Well, it doesn’t work,” Rubio said. “It’s a policy of conduct, a policy in this regard. We want Venezuela to go in a certain direction.”
Trump said on Saturday said the United States would “lead the country until we can make a safe, appropriate, and wise transition.”
The comments sparked a firestorm critical Trump adversaries and some allies, who have warned of a nation-building exercise in Venezuela.
“We’ve learned over the years, when America tries to change regimes and build a nation in this way, that the American people pay the price in blood and dollars,” Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Sunday on ABC.
Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez was sworn in as president following Maduro’s capture. Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, arrived in New York on Saturday evening to face drug charges.
Read more about CNBC’s politics coverageRubio’s comments suggest the United States will take a softer approach toward Venezuela than Trump’s initial suggestions of running the country with a “group.” But Rubio said Trump could still take further military actions to achieve U.S. goals.
Asked on “Meet the Press” about continued military action in Venezuela, Rubio said Trump “retains all his optionality.”
Rubio also extrapolated on U.S. goals regarding Venezuela’s oil reserves. Trump said Saturday that the United States was “going to bring in our very large American oil companies – the largest in the world.” spend billions of dollarsrepair seriously damaged infrastructure, oil infrastructure. »
Venezuela has the largest proven oil reserves in the world.
“At the end of the day, it’s not about securing the oil fields; it’s about ensuring that no sanctioned oil can come in and out until they make changes to the governance of this entire industry,” Rubio said on ABC. “The way to solve this problem in the interest of the Venezuelan people is to get private companies that are not from Iran or elsewhere to invest in the equipment.”
Rubio said he has not spoken to specific U.S. oil companies about the prospect of starting operations in Venezuela. Currently, only Chevron operates in the country.
“We are almost certain that there will be considerable interest from Western companies,” Rubio said.
Rubio said Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Energy Secretary Chris Wright would “do an assessment and talk to some of these companies.”
Clarification: The US military captured Nicolas Maduro and expelled him from Venezuela. This was not clear in a reference in an earlier version of this article.